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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23839756">The Bait</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Repeatinglitanies/pseuds/Repeatinglitanies'>Repeatinglitanies</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse, Alternate Universe, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Don’t copy to another site, F/M, Morally Ambiguous Character, Prostitution, no incest as they are unrelated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:07:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,298</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23839756</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Repeatinglitanies/pseuds/Repeatinglitanies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It took Vanya a few seconds to process what was happening. But the basic gist of it was that the man in front of her was being hunted. And she was used as bait.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>134</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Bait</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Vanya finally decided to leave Leonard once and for all, she also decided to make sure there would be no turning back for either of them.</p><p>It was by no means a resolution she had come to lightly. But after everything that had happened, that she had let happen to her, Vanya had come to the conclusion that there was no other way.</p><p>So on the night she chose to break up with Leonard, Vanya served him, his friends and his business associates his favourite meal. As always, she wasn’t invited to dine with them. After all, she was the unpaid help that also doubled as the unpaid whore.</p><p>Vanya never begrudged being on the outside looking in. And she didn’t start now.</p><p>In fact, she was happy not to be a part of their celebration.</p><p>The food was poisoned after all.</p><p>So when they found themselves gasping for air and falling face first on the table, on their meal or on the floor, Vanya stood by to watch them fight and fail to hold on to life. By the time she was sure there were no more twitches, shakes or even a pulse of a heart beat, she made her way downstairs.</p><p>They had a devil locked up in the basement.</p><p>And she had a deal to make.</p><p>Everything had gone according to plan. And the only thing that surprised her was the lack of guilt or regret. She had just murdered a group of people, her boyfriend/pimp included. The only people that cared if she lived or died, even if it was only because she was a valuable commodity.</p><p>A normal person would at least feel something.</p><p>Then again, Vanya learned that she wasn’t normal. She had never been normal. So she supposed it shouldn’t be a surprise.</p><p>____________</p><p>Once upon a time, Vanya would have done anything for Leonard. When she had first met him, Vanya had been living out of a box for a couple of months since her eighteenth birthday. That meant she was no longer under the guardianship of her foster parents and the state. That also meant that she had no one to turn to and nowhere to live.</p><p>Leonard was the kindest, most generous person she had ever met. He opened his home to her, fed her, and clothed her. </p><p>She soon found out that it came at a price. But at the time, Vanya was too young and stupid to see it as that. When Leonard didn’t have money to keep his house, Vanya of course wanted to help any way she could.</p><p>The only problem was that the only way a girl like Vanya could earn the type of money Leonard claimed to have needed was on her back. If Vanya had thought her numerous sacrifices would somehow make Leonard treat her even better or at the very least just like he did before, then she was soon disabused of the notion.</p><p>She became his cash cow. So that meant that she couldn’t go anywhere outside his house for anything not “work-related.” Not that Vanya would ever dare to run away. Because where was she to go? She had lived on her own before meeting Leonard. And all she knew there was loneliness, hunger and uncertainty.</p><p>At least with Leonard, she had a roof over her head. And occasionally, he could be very, very kind to her. She lived in hope that one day he would always be nice to her.</p><p>But the years passed. Life and Leonard proved to be unkind to Vanya. Physical, mental and emotional abuse can take a significant toll on the body. And so did malnutrition.</p><p>There came a point where Leonard wasn’t getting as much for her as she once did. </p><p>Vanya shouldn’t have been surprised. But that was the extent of her false hope and intentional blindness when it came to Leonard. </p><p>She never expected him to sell her and write her off as dead. But there could be no doubt as she found herself tied up and naked in an abandoned warehouse, surrounded by men with knives and bats. Not even Vanya could deny that they had no intention of letting her leave this place alive. In fact, they even had a camera on, actively recording what they expect to be all the bloody and gruesome details.</p><p>Only thing was that it didn’t happen the way her captors expected.</p><p>Vanya herself couldn’t believe what had taken place even though she had a front row seat. </p><p>One moment, her captors were getting ready to inflict as much pain and suffering on her. The next moment, she was standing outside what was once the warehouse they were filming in.</p><p>Vanya didn’t understand what happened or how long one moment was to the other.</p><p>All she knew was that she was alive and the people who wanted to hurt her were dead. Her skin, mottled with scars and bruises, were as good as new. Broken and fractured bones were somehow healed. And she felt full.</p><p>She should have felt relief.</p><p>Instead, she was scared and horrified. She couldn’t explain what had happened. And the uncertainty felt like an open chasm that threatened to swallow her whole.</p><p>So she went back to what she knew.</p><p>Vanya went back to Leonard.</p><p>Leonard was certainly surprised to see her back alive and looking better than ever before. There might even have been fear in his eyes. But at the time, Vanya couldn’t believe what she had seen.</p><p>Because she had always been helpless and Leonard had always been the one who had all the power. Vanya would rather forget about the warehouse and the men burned and buried beneath its ruins. </p><p>But it seemed that Leonard didn’t. For a brief point in time, he was back to being the sweet and caring man she first met. He also tried everything he could think of just to get her to do what she did that night. But nothing ever happened, not even if Vanya wanted to. </p><p>So things went back to normal. That meant back to being what basically amounted to slavery until one day, Vanya came face to face with Leonard’s new business associates. </p><p>When they stripped her of her clothes, she had thought it was more of the same thing. Vanya had made a feeble attempt to stop them by telling them she was menstruating, but that didn’t deter them.</p><p>It didn’t surprise Vanya. She’d had clients who didn’t mind blood after all.</p><p>What did fill her with terror was when one of them brought in a wooden box and stuffed her inside. While no one would ever consider Vanya to be statuesque, the box was so cramped that Vanya had to go on a fetal position just to be in a position that could be anywhere close to comfortable.</p><p>The men nailed the box shut and Leonard just stood by and watched. When crying and begging only earned a bang on her box and a threatened beating, Vanya forced herself to stay silent throughout a long ride where she could feel the blood flowing out from the space between her legs that so many had badly abused.</p><p>She stayed silent as she heard the engine stop and as they brought her box down on the ground. From the lack of cars and other accompanying sounds, Vanya figured they were out of the city. Somewhere isolated.</p><p>What were they going to do to her? </p><p>She had to suffer in silence for a long time until she sensed her box being lowered. And then she heard earth being dropped on her box.</p><p>They were burying her alive!</p><p>Vanya couldn’t stay silent then. She screamed and screamed. But that didn’t stop them. </p><p>Vanya didn’t know how long she cried and begged and pleaded to be let out. She couldn’t even remember whatever she promised to whatever holy or unholy powers in exchange for getting out of there. Her eyes were drooping and she thought that she was running out of air.</p><p>So this was a pathetic end to a pathetic life? Maybe it was for the best. Even if she survived this ordeal, what was she to look forward to? More of Leonard and his friends and customers?</p><p>Suddenly, she heard a scratching sound. And the definite sound of her box being opened.</p><p>Vanya took big gulps of air while a pair of hands lifted her out of her box and onto the ground.</p><p>“You better be worth it for all the trouble you put me through. It wasn’t easy digging you out of there.”</p><p>The man who rescued her didn’t seem bothered by her nudity. She tried standing up and for a brief moment, even hoped he’d give her his coat to cover herself. No such luck on both fronts. </p><p>To her shock, he touched the inside of her blood-smeared thigh, and put his blood-coated fingers into his mouth. It was a dark night and Vanya couldn’t be sure. But she was positive his eyes rolled at the back of his head. And he moaned as if he had just tasted an exquisite delicacy.</p><p>Vanya was rooted on the spot. If she didn’t feel so paralysed with fear, she would have been running as far away from him as possible. She had met many different people over the course of her time with Leonard. But this man who had just dug her out of the hole Leonard buried her in was by far the weirdest. Scratch that. This man went beyond the spectrum of strangeness she had encountered so far.</p><p>“Yes. It’s you. I’ve been looking for someone like you for a long time. I was starting to think I’d never find you. But here you are.”</p><p>There was awe and reverence in his tone. And for a brief moment, Vanya stopped being afraid of him. No one had ever referred to her in that way, in that tone, not even Leonard.</p><p>But then the man just had to shatter her illusions. He started unbuckling his belt.</p><p>Vanya might have had an idea on what he was planning to do next. But there was no way to know for sure. Because a dart interrupted him. </p><p>It missed him by a few centimetres. </p><p>It took Vanya a few seconds to process what was happening. But the basic gist of it was that the man in front of her was being hunted. And she was used as bait.</p><p>Despite their number, Leonard’s friends had a hard time handling her rescuer. To her surprise, he disappeared and then reappeared behind the one who shot the tranquilizer dart. And in one swift motion, her rescuer broke the other man’s neck.</p><p>That was when actual bullets went flying. And Vanya tried her best to duck for cover. It wasn’t like what she saw in the movies though. Because it involved a huge lull intermittently interrupted by a volley of gunshots. If her life wasn’t on the line, Vanya would have been bored to tears.</p><p>But for some reason, she found herself rooting for her rescuer (for the lack of a better term). Maybe it was because he was one man facing off against a number of people out to get him.</p><p>She admired how he could handle going at it all alone. And wished she had half his independence. If they both survived from this, Vanya needed to get him to teach her. She didn’t want to be alone because all her life she believed that she couldn’t make it by herself.</p><p>But what did years of living with and for Leonard accomplish? She was naked and in the middle of a gunfight in what appeared to be the deepest, darkest parts of the forest. If even one of those bullets hit her, how long would it take before she got proper medical attention?</p><p>She could very well die in this forest. </p><p>But was she merely replacing the devil she knew for one she didn’t? And what if the man who rescued her was actually even worse than Leonard and his friends?</p><p>No. She had to think of this as an opportunity. The man wanted to have sex with her. She could use that, especially in a world where nothing came for free.</p><p>Vanya would leave Leonard. She would make a deal with the man who rescued her and seemed to be winning a fight against multiple opponents. And at the end of all of this, hopefully, she’d make new life for herself. Hopefully, a better one.</p><p>Unfortunately, she was cut from her reverie when one of Leonard’s friends grabbed her and used her as hostage. And for some reason, her rescuer decided to give himself up.</p><p>__________________</p><p> </p><p>As far as Leonard and his friends were concerned, Vanya’s rescuer was just another commodity. After all, a person who could teleport would have a lot of value to someone who lived in a world where everyone else found spatial jumping to be beyond their abilities.</p><p>Her rescuer also happened to be a former hitman. Which meant that even if there was no market for a teleporter, Leonard could sell him to people who might have a grudge against him. </p><p>But negotiations were prolonged. Leonard had more buyers than he knew what to do with. Not only did he receive monetary offers to incentivise him to sell, Leonard and his friends also got threats meant to try to keep them from selling to the “other side.”</p><p>So things got too complicated. Which meant that they had to keep her rescuer alive and in relative good health for longer than expected.</p><p>Given that the last person who tried to feed him and treat his wounds ended up dying (no one was sure how he manage to kill his captor), Vanya was given the task of caretaker. He was kept in chains in the basement. And it was enough to hold him. Apparently, binding him kept him from teleporting. </p><p>That didn’t stop him from being deadly though, at least to Leonard’s friends.</p><p>Vanya had no way to free him. She didn’t even know who had the key to his chains. So Leonard wasn’t concerned with leaving her alone with her rescuer.</p><p>In the end, that proved to be a mistake.</p><p>____________</p><p>“How did you find me? I was buried alive in the middle of the woods.”</p><p>His green eyes regarded her with confusion and then curiosity as he took a sip of the water she offered him.</p><p>“You don’t know what you are, do you?”</p><p>All he needed was the look on her face to confirm his suspicion. And his eyes turned cunning. As if he’d just found a way to take advantage of a situation.</p><p>Vanya wasn’t sure if she liked or hated that look. </p><p>“Suffice it to say that we aren’t like everyone else on this planet. I won’t tell you where we come from, that’s a long story. But what I will tell you is that I’m finding you to be a disappointment.”</p><p>How dare he judge her! Vanya had half a mind to throw the water on his face. Spoken like a person who never needed anyone in his life, someone who was smart and powerful. Someone who was born able to take on the world if he had to.</p><p>She had never been strong. And everything she had done until now, she did to survive.</p><p>“You know why I’m disappointed? It’s because you allowed yourself to believe what a bunch of nobodies have told you. Let me guess. They told you that no one wants you. That you are worthless. That you can’t live without them. That isn’t true. I tasted your blood. And I know what you’ve been through. What you had to do. I know you better than anyone you’ve met, better than Leonard even. And I say that you don’t need them. That they are beneath you. And it’s time for you to show them that they were wrong to ever underestimate you. Right now, they think you can’t harm a fly. But you and I know that isn’t true. Look at those guys back at that warehouse. You know what you did. What they looked like after you sucked the life out of them. You can do something billions of people can’t. Instead of stepping all over you, they should fear you.”</p><p>Vanya didn’t know why. But she had never felt as aroused as she had in that moment.</p><p>She ignored the impulse to jump his bones. Instead, she took his words to heart. And a plan formed. Soon enough, she acted on it.</p><p>——————————</p><p>In the end, it wasn’t hard to find the key.</p><p>He was smiling as she opened his door. He must have heard the thump of bodies on the floor and concluded that she’d done her job, what he’d expected her to do.</p><p>Vanya didn’t move from her position at the door.</p><p>He became impatient.</p><p>“Aren’t you going to let me go?”</p><p>Now Vanya smiled.</p><p>“I will. But only if you make a deal with me.”</p><p>She could tell the exact moment he realized that he wasn’t in control. Good. She didn’t like the smug look on his face anyway.</p><p>“Let me hear it then.”</p><p>“In exchange for freeing you, you teach me to do what you do. No, not the teleporting. Teach me how I can take on this world. Teach me how I can be on top of it and never be stepped on again.”</p><p>“Is that all? Then you have a de-“</p><p>Vanya didn’t like how easily he accepted.</p><p>“Not so fast. There’s one more thing.”</p><p>He knew that she caught on. It looked like he was re-assessing her, amending his opinion of her. At least now he knew better than to think her an idiot. He may have thought he grasped her very being from tasting her blood. But a lot could happen from the night he first met her until now. And she was no longer the fearful, meek creature who accepted abuse as a daily part of life.</p><p>“You won’t try anything with me. You would have raped me back in the woods if Leonard’s friends didn’t catch you with your pants down. I can’t be sure what that was about. But if I had to take a guess, I’d say you wanted to make me have your psychotic, super-powered babies. That will not be happening without my consent. So now, give me a yes or no answer. Will you abide by the spirit of the deal and not just the letter?”</p><p>“What makes you think I won’t just break my word as soon as you unlock the chains?”</p><p>Vanya didn’t have to think hard on that.</p><p>“I’m willing to give the benefit of a doubt to the guy who did give himself up instead of letting me die. Besides, if you broke the deal, I can always do this.”</p><p>A hot white force erupted from Vanya and went straight to him. Like the men from the warehouse, she sucked his energy, taking a part of it for herself until she was sure he got the message.</p><p>He was a smart man. So it didn’t take long.</p><p>But it did take time for him to get his bearings after being in the same position for days on end. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem to mind her brief display of power and seemed magnanimous enough to take the hand she offered.</p><p>So in the end, she found herself a new partner, not in the way Leonard ever was. </p><p>Which reminded her.</p><p>“What’s your name?” </p><p>Funny how after all this time, she never thought to ask his name. But better late than never.</p><p>“You can call me Five.”</p>
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